Going back OTR after running local for the last 8 months
 

Hi All,

Just a quick refresher to bring you up to speed. I started out back in June 2009 with Swift after attending their Driving Academy. Training went great, and my trainer / mentor was great. I ran OTR with Swift till May 2010 when I was terminated for "Violation of Companies Speed Policy". My home terminal was Sumner WA, but I was in Midway GA when my DM said bring the equipment to the GA terminal and await further word. I tried and tried but could not get any company to hire me OTR, so I took a local job. After 3 months at that local job, I found a truck owner and started running for him. That lasted from September till December when I chose not to run for him because he wasn't paying me. (That guy still owes me $1600 to this day!) When I left that guy, I went back to FL and went back to the local job again.

I have always wanted to get back OTR, and have continued to talk to recruiters and apply to different companies. Recently I have had some luck with a few different companies. I have a date to go to orientation with Knight Refrigerated, very close with JBS Carriers, and just today got information that Schneider wants to talk. I know exactly what I can expect from Knight, and a friend of mine at Schneider is very happy. Everything I have found about JBS is good, but I am a little scared of getting on with a company in CO when I live in FL!

Now I am coming here to ask what you all think. If you drive for any of these carriers, or have in the past, can you share some intel with me? I know the haters are gonna come out of the woodwork, but hopefully I can get some good info from some of you.

It sounds to me as though you need to decide where you want to go. If Knight has you scheduled for orientation, why don't you just go with them? I would think that you could do will with any of them. I would check with them to see if they can get you home. Florida is a difficult place for some carriers to get out. It really should not make any difference where the carrier is based, but where they run.

whats the point? if you didnt get the hint from a broad concensus of people what do u wanna hear? Sugarcoat it a bit for u? If 90% of people call the sky blue- ITS BLUE!! u want to hear someone say its green?
Theres lots of info out there on the cos u asked about.

Schneider has just launched a new program to expand it's Florida presence. They pay more because the driver must leave the equipment at the home terminal during hometime. The catch here is that Schneider does not have a terminal in Florida. The terminal would be in Atlanta, and they pay for the driver to "commute" to Atlanta and back home again. I know that Schneider has older than average equipment, just not sure how well they maintain it. The pay would be higher, but it is an 8 hour commute home from Atlanta. Also, they say the average time out is 3 weeks with 5 days off to accommodate for the extended commute. All that means to me is 5 days down with no pay.

JBS is headquartered in Greeley CO, but they deliver to all 48. The carriers parent company is a major supplier of beef and pork, and JBS handles the transportation of it's product. I originally came across this carrier because I saw them delivering to the local company that I currently drive for. JBS seems to take care of it's drivers and equipment. They have excellent benefits, good pay and some really attractive bonus programs.

Knight Refrigerated would have my home terminal in Lakeland FL, which is only 1.5 hours from home. They are trying to grow the refrigerated fleet based in FL, and although I would be running OTR they would keep me closer to the region. I have been told that the shops do not take care of the equipment unless you are at your home terminal, but every time I see Knight going down the road the equipment looks as though it is well maintained!

If I had to choose right now, I would be leaning towards Knight. Good equipment, great miles and not too far from home. JBS would be a close 2nd because of the excellent equipment, great benefits and the fact that they have a unique business model. Schneider would be higher pay, but I am not sure about the older equipment.............

Good luck.

If it were me I would not want to commute 8 hours each way to get home. Living in Florida, it would probably be easier to get home pulling a reefer. I have a friend who knows a guy who works for Knight. He has been with them for quite a while, so I suppose he likes them. In fact, my friend is thinking about going there himself.

A friend who knows a guy?? Got it. wink wink..............
Refrigerated was my first choice because they average better miles and more available loads. I guess my choice is between Knight Refrigerated and JBS, just looking for insight about them from someone who knows them.

You try doing a search on this forum for "JBS Carriers". The software omits JBS and returns results for Carriers. I am simply looking for information from people with knowledge of the companies I am interested in. Since I posted my question in a Sub-Forum titled "Truck Driving Jobs - What about this trucking company?" where did I go wrong?

I have an app in with Knight as well, but they are hold to get ahold of, everytime i call the recruiter, i get voicemail, and never a returned call..

If you google JBS, you should come up with several news stories about them. Last year they were shutdown for 6 weeks or so, while they had qualcomm's installed in all their equipment and electronic loging programs written and installed. They were one of the first "forced" e-loggers.

Well I have read all of the news stories about how they got fined, and mandated to install EOBR's. I also found a huge thread at another board, nothing at all on here, that gave some great info on JBS. They have gone through a lot of changes, but most of what I read is good. Thats why I am looking for first hand driver accounts on here!